A liquid-in-glass thermometer which uses an organic substance such as alcohol as the thermometer liquid. This type of thermometer has a low freezing point and a high coefficient of expansion. It is less accurate, however, than a mercury thermometer.

A colorless and odorless gaseous element. The lightest and apparently the most abundant chemical element in the universe. However, it is found only in trace quantities in the observable portion of our atmosphere, only about 0.00005 percent by volume of dr ...

A unit of pressure which directly expresses the force exerted by the atmosphere. Equal to 1000 dynes/cm2 or 100 pascals.

A photoelectric spectrophotometer which is used in the determination of the ozone content of the atmosphere.

variable audio-modulated radiosonde developed at the Bureau of Standards and used by the United States weather services.

Of or pertaining to rain.

Programmable Read-Only Memory. Read-only memory which can be programmed by the user using a special hardware programmer.

A spring which is designed to achieve a fixed spring constant over a wide temperature range. Usually, this involves an alloy with high nickel content such as Ni-Span C. It is common for these springs to be stress relieved at elevated temperature after for ...

The upward force produced by the gas in a balloon. It is equal to the free lift plus the weight of the balloon and the attached equipment.

A thermometer, invented by James Six in 1782, which simultaneously indicates the maximum and minimum temperatures attained during a given interval of time. A U-tube min/max thermometer

Thermometer for measuring the temperature in the soil at different depths.

An area of low barometric pressure, with its attendant system of winds. Also called a depression or cyclone.

The algebraic difference between the upper and lower limits of the measuring range of an instrument, i.e. a thermometer with a range of -35 to 50

The atmospheric pressure computed using station elevation as the reference datum level. Station pressure is usually the base value from which sea level pressure and altimeter setting are determined.

Very small precipitation drops (diameters less than 0.5 mm) that appear to float with air currents while falling in an irregular path. Unlike fog droplets, drizzle falls to the ground.

A line of equal or constant pressure.

The general term for dry atmospheric suspensoids, including dust, haze, smoke. and sand. Compare to hydrometeor.

The time required for an instrument to register a designated percentage (frequently 90%) of a step change in the variable being measured.

Sustained winds greater than or equal to 40 mph or gust greater than or equal to 58 mph.

A measure, proposed by Angstrom, of the precipitation effectiveness of a region.